r/Disabilityactivism

S9888, our NYS Senate bill to end movie cinema discrimination against the deaf and hard of hearing, needs a “discharge” into Rules NOW from the Commerce Committee so that it can be voted on before adjournment on June 4.

If you live in New York State, please call ASAP:  

Sean Mulligan
716.826.2683
Legislative Director 
for Commerce Committee Chair Sen. April Baskin  
Leave a message, if necessary, on behalf of New Yorkers who are deaf and hard of hearing to please help move S9888 via a discharge and toward a Senate vote in the short time remaining.

And if you can make a second call, ask Sen. Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins’ legislative director to help push S9888 toward a vote:

Josh Marcil
518.455-2585.

It only takes a minute to make these 2 calls. 

——————————-

Progress is being made on the Assembly side, where we’re hoping A4628B (AM Seawright, lead sponsor) will be voted out of Rules and passed by the Assembly in coming days.

Thank you to everyone who has already made calls, sent emails, shared posts, or helped spread awareness. It really is making a difference. As the bill status changes, we’ll continue sharing updates on the next steps that can help move this legislation forward before the legislative session ends.

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON NY OPEN CAPTIONS BILL S9888

On Tuesday (5/12), the Senate Consumer Protection Committee voted the open captions bill (S9888) forward to the Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business Committee.

But, that committee is unable to vote it out for a floor vote this week. Now, our only hope, according to lead sponsor Sen. Nathalia Fernandez’s team, is to obtain “a discharge from Commerce to Rules,” so that the Senate can pass S.9888 and the Assembly can pass the companion A4628B before the legislature adjourns on June 4.

Please make two telephone calls NOW:

1. Call Josh Marcil in Albany at 518-455-2585

He is Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ Legislative Director. The Majority Leader has the authority to discharge S.9888 to Rules and enable Senate passage. Let Mr. Marcil know we’re watching.

If he doesn’t pick up, leave an urgent message on behalf of HLAA NYSA and the state’s over one million deaf and hard of hearing people who deserve equal access to movies in cinemas.

The bill has also been
amended to protect smaller cinemas while requiring the big cinema chains to offer a fair number of open-captioned movie showtimes.

2. Call your Senator’s Albany Office to Speak Up Now to Bring S.9888 to the Floor for a Vote

Find your Senator here:
https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator

If we don’t get action NOW, we’re left to wait another year to end the discrimination of chain cinemas against New Yorkers who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The NY Senate Consumer Protection Committee voted the open captions bill (S9888) forward this week. The bill is now in the Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business Committee, and we need that committee to move it to the Senate floor ASAP.

The legislative session ends in just THREE WEEKS and next week’s Commerce Committee meeting is likely to be its last!  

IF YOU SUPPORT THIS BILL PLEASE MAKE 2 QUICK CALLS TODAY:

1. Call Sean Mulligan
   Legislative & Budget Counsel to Commerce Committee Chair Senator April Baskin (D-Buffalo)

518-455-2426
Ask the Commerce Committee to take up S9888 at its next meeting and move it to the Senate floor.
If no one answers, please leave a voicemail.
You can also mention:
the bill only requires a LIMITED number of clearly labeled open-caption screenings

amendments have been made to help protect small, independent, and nonprofit theaters (Assembly version A4628B)

2. Call the Commerce Committee Senator nearest you and ask them to:

co-sponsor S9888

vote to move the bill to the Senate floor

Commerce Committee Senators:
Dean Murray (R, Eastern Long Island)
518-455-3411
George Borrello (R, Western NY)
518-455-3563
Stephen Chan (R, Brooklyn)
518-455-3401
Monica Martinez (D, Suffolk County)
518-455-2765
Jessica Ramos (D, Queens)
518-455-2529
Christopher Ryan (D, north of Syracuse)
518-455-3511
James Sanders Jr. (D, Southeast Queens)
718-327-7017

This bill would help over 4 million deaf and hard of hearing New Yorkers, along with many others who benefit from captions, including neurodivergent individuals, people with auditory processing challenges, English language learners, older adults, and many young people who already prefer captions.
NYC has already had an open captions law since 2022.

Please share this post. Even a few calls can genuinely help right now.

This is true for we the disabled are treated as a minority and are forced into the shadows. Its like society likes to punish us for the fact we require more attention, more resources, ect. We did not ask to be like this. We are not lazy we are simply not given much of a chance at all to be even remotely functioning, contributing members to society.

Yes, we require certain things as in can only work certain jobs if any, limited hours in order still be able to operate in the world, we require multiple reasons for medical attention in some way, we rely on others for not only support but also guideance and stability.

It literally takes a village to cater to the disabled community. We would all like to be independent in many ways, but the mind and the body we have tend to have limits for us. This in return makes us a some what " burden" to anyone around or entering our lives. Society tends to treat us as if we are a problem a drain on the system if you will.

When in all honesty we did not ask to be poor, we didnt ask for endless medical appointments, surgeries, medications. We did not ask to struggle with daily task as in work, cook, clean, run errands. Society has slapped us with a label. Society has degraded us as a whole, society is the one that gives disability a bad rep.

Society is the one that gave us a cold shoulder, careless government that rather shun us rather than help us. We are human, we do matter, we are unique, we do make a difference for we are the ones that teach society that we are so much more than our conditions, that looks can be deceiving, you should not judge a book by its cover.

We teach society patience, we teach that it doesn't matter the severity of the situation we are still human. We challenge society which fustrates the system, we pour knowledge to narrow minded people who live in a glass box. They see things happening but fail to look into and deep dive in order to educate ones self of the world.

The disabled community gets a bad rep because we show easily how curropt the system by simply being us. When we struggle to require our needs or are horrifically limited each month on resources if thats if given any the systems flaws start to show. This creates distress panic and terror because in all honesty what materials we are given in reality make our well beings worse.

The drinking water, the food products, the medications, the simple materials as in clothes all these things wreck havoc to our already feeble immune systems. The toxins the micro plastics they all play a part in making us sick. So when these issues get addressed we are given solutions that either don't help or are to expensive that we are forced to turn the other cheek.

The disabled community lives in a horrific tragedy of being doubled standard. " we want you to get better." Oh wait if they reach peak mobility and clear mental state then we lose money." " you can work but with these given regulations and hours." " we have to let you go because you are not meeting our requirements." " Oh we provide you funding for this." " Oh no we don't do that here."

Statistically speaking approximately 50% to over 60% of disabled people are homeless and thats in the U.S that's shockingly rating that, that's over two and a half times higher than the general population. MORE THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION!!!!

Disability is not the problem SOCIETY IS THE PROBLEM, THE SYSTEM IS THE PROBLEM!!!!!

#youhaveavoice #BeYourOwnHero #selfadvocate #advocate #disabled #poverty #FailedSystem #WeMatter #youhaveavoice